Machine for cutting shirts, blouses, and the like.



L. H. HAYS.

MACHINEFOR CUTTING SHIRTS, BLQUSES, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION f-xLED 1AN.2.1913.

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l L. H. NAYS.

MACHIN'` FOB CUTUNG SHIRTS, BLUSES, AND HE LIKE. APPLlcATloN 'man MN. 2.1913.

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Paten Dee. 11, w17.

L.HHAYS MACHINE FOR CUTTING SHIRTS, BLOUSES, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 2| |913- IIIMHMII. Pmtmlted D601. Il, 19H7.

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Specification of lTtetters latent.

Patented Dec. 11, 19,17a

Application filed January 2, 1913. Serial No. 739,675.

To all 'a0/tom it may concern.

Fee it lrnown that l, Louis H. Hare, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohimhave invented a new and useful lmprorement in Machines for Cutting Shirts, Filouses, and the like, of which the following is a specification, the principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which l have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

ln the manufacture of garments on the order, for example, of shirts, blouses and the like, it has been no small problem to accurately and uniformly cut the opening for the collar, that is, the opening to the edge of which the collar, or collar-band, as the case may be, is attached in the completed garment. As such manufacture has heretofore been conducted, there is apt to be irregularity in both the sizing and location of this opening, and there furthermore always exists necessity for hand operation in trimming the edges thereof. The object, accordingly, of the present invention is the provision of a machine whereby openings of any desired size may be quickly and accurately formed in such garments, and where absolute uniformity in the matter of size and location of the opening may at the same time be secured without any individual attention being required thereto, or expert trimming. To the accomplishment of these and related objects, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

rlhe annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which `the principle of the invention may be used.

lu said annexed drawings Figure l is a front elevation of a machine embodying my present improvements; Fig. Q is a side elevation of the same as viewed from the left in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof as viewed from the right in Fiq. l; Fig. l is a plan view of said machine; Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevational view of a detail; Fig. 6 is a section of such detail taken on the line 6--6, Fig. 5; Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a longitudinal and a transverse cross-section of another detail;Fi0. 9 is a bottom plan view ofthe cutting or trimming blade which forms one of the features of the machine; Fig. 10 is a section thereof taken on the line 10-10, Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a plan view of the central portion of the table whereon the garment to be trimmed is supported, showing a slight modification in construction; Fig. 12 is a diagrannnatic layout of the trimming or cutting knife; Fig. 13 is a plan view of a garment, specifically a shirt, shown in the position it will occupy when folded and placed on the table ready to be trimmed; Fi g. lllis a view of the same with the trimming operation completed; while Fig. l5 illustrates such garment in its unfolded condition after it has been thus trimmed; Figs. 1G and 17 shew another detail; and Figs. 18 and 19 show a modification.

The present improved machine is in a number of respects essentially a power press, it being to the modifications and additions to the usual press structure, whereby the latter is adapted to the purpose in hand, that attention is herein directed. rlhe operative `parts of the press, as well as the press bed,

are supported on a suitable frame l. Above the latter rises a pair of standards 2 joined at their upper ends and having a vertically disposed guidcway formed therebetween in which is reciprocably held a plunger l of usual construction, having a head 5 at its lower end. it crank-shaft 6, journaled in the upper ents of said standards, is connected by means of a rod 7 with such head so as to thus reciprocate the same, said shaft carrying at its outer end a pulley wheel 8 which is normally loose but adapted to be thrown into engagement with the shaft to rotate the same by the operation of a clutch, the detailed construction of which appears in Figs. 7 and 8.

its shown in the figures just named, the connection in question is effected by a longitudinally movable plunger 9 carried by the shaft., behind which is a spring l0 that tends to throw it into engagement with a notch l1 in the hub of the pulley 8. A member l2 with an inclined face, however, is normally positioned by a springpressed plunger 13 to retain this clutch member out of engageieri ment, but may be withdrawn, whereupon j rotation of the shaft will ensue.

Such clutch.mechanism is not presented as a part of the present invention, but for withdrawing the member l2 special means are provided eonsistingof a counectiiig rod 21.

attached at its lower end to a lever- 14 deisposed beneath the pressbed, as. shown. in Fig. 2. This lever is carried onone'end of a short rock-shaftf15,: to the other end of which is attached a longer lever 16 that is :normallyheldy inr raised .positionfbya tenlsion sprmg 17, but is adapted t0 be depressed by a cross-bar 1S disposed' transversely of the machine and pivotally attached near its centerto said lever 16. dTot the respective ends of this cross-'bar are attached push-rods 19j With'suitableknobs-QO at their upper ends which=` rise t'above'the bed of the machine. These knobs l are spaced suflicient j'distance fromfeatchfs'idefofthe operative parts of the -machine'soasA to: insure that the operators 'handsgifwhen engaging the same,-'will be out loffthe ldangerzone, andparticularly that they will be removed fromany possibilityfof being caught) by ythe trimmer blade attached ytot the reciprocable yhead-5 of the press. By reason of the constructionV just describedit 'will'V bel-seen thatJ it "is necessary for both :knobsv 20,- that is;i for both endsof `the crossbart-18,' to be depressed, if thefleve'r 15 is to be-r 'rockedso' asl to aetuate' the' clutch. Accordingly, the operator must use both hands fbefore hecanlstart' lchef-machine in-to operation.

Thefbedofthe machine is formed with -two parallel rails' 22 that 'consti-tute a track Jupnf which lis-'Imojvablyl supported the table `"23'p'roper designed tofreceive the work, the -f'g'eneraliform of this table' being best shown -2inFig- 4. "This table'lmay be placed andsecured indesired'location by means` of-aV lever 244 to the right of therstandards 2, which Amerie-operativelyconnected with said table by'ia YlinklQ, Figll'2, andlres'iliently'engages winotches adjacentto an indicatoror scale 26,

- veriun 'litis brought opposite the appro-` so that'any. predetermined location may be giventhe tableby simply swinging said leteh.

priat f-Thef general Vvfo-'rm 'ofthe'table is deterf ffeen'terof its rear ved'g'eiit is out out tol allow 27 carried by the press plunger orhead, and

f that a raised-strip YorCflange 28 extends along "-su'chl' rear? edge; save for' this opening. The

l j'-"knif 27- -isfofgenerali curved-form, asl will L"fsupported??on*the frame4 lof the machinefso uasi tov Llie-inithefepeningin thef table over ported by thedatte'r. This bl'o'ckis prefereab-ly 'offwood,i andf'over it -isplaced al pad 30 *paper #er fpaper-like -material "Which is referablyfmeved `rto'A presenta fresh portion 6 toeachssueeeeding blewtfefftheknife, f the stroke of the latter, or rather the location of the block, being so gaged that the knife will just penetrate such sheet of paper, but not cut into the block.

This paper is carried on a roll 31 beneath -the bed of the machine, and thence passes over a suitable guide 32 to the block 29, be-

ingcarried from the latter between two feed-rolls 33 located to the rear of the standards. The detailed construction of these feed-rolls is clearly shown in Figs. and 6, from which they will be seen to consist simply of two rolls, preferably of a material 'that will securely grip the sheet of paper, said rolls being intergeared at one end so as to rotate in opposite directions, and one thereof, the upper, being intermittently driven by a pawl 34 carried on an oscillatory arm 35 so as to engage the teeth on the corresponding gear 3G. This arm 35 is connected to be oscillated from the crank-shaft 6 of the press by a rod 37 that is eccentrically secured to the end of said shaft opposite the pulley, as will be readily understood. From the foregoing it will be seen that each rotation of the crank shaft will not only effect an up-and-down movement of "the plunger, and thus of the trimming knife 27 carried by the latter, but also will produce a movement of the rolls 33 which will advance the sheet 30 slightly across the block beneath the knife so as to leave a fresh portion of the latter for the next succeeding operation.

As has been indicated, the specific garment A illustrated in Figs. 13 to 15 inclusive, is a shirt, which differs from a blouse, as the two are ordinarily manufactured, by having a yoke e. to connect the back portion a and the two fronts a2, as they are called, which form the bosom of the shirt. These parts, preliminar-ily to the operation under consideration, are sewed together along their appropriate seams a3, and then the whole-is folded along the central longitudinal line .OJ- of the back, indicated on F ig. I15. Thus folded, the edges of the fronts will be alined and the folded garment appear as in Fig. l13. The upper corners of the fronts and the intervening portion of thc yoke are left untrimmed, so that an open- -in'g of irregular angular form is produced as in Fig. 13, it being this opening which requires to be trimmed to'form the collar. lVhen the garment is folded in the manner described, it will be obvious that a knife having the form of half the collar opening may be employed,and still produce, when the garmentis unfolded again, a perfect and `symmetrical opening. Moreover, b vgiving `such knife the proper open curve so 'that it will widen in a predetermined ratio to its .increasing depth (see Fig. 12), different sizes of openings-may be produced by sim- ;.ply advancing the folded garment a greater per; .less :distance ,along :the transverse axis :of

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Hilti the knife before the latter is depressed. Thus, as shown in the figure last referred to, for each of the distances, b Z9, ZJ ZJ', and b representing different locations of the folded garment transversely of the knife, an opening will be cut having correspondingly differing widths c c, c c', and c c.

So far as l am aware, it has never heretofore been deemed feasible to provide for the cutting of different sizes of collar openings by a single knife, but if the trimming operation be performed with the garment folded in the particular way I have just described, this is entirely feasible, as l have found by careful experiment under actual operative conditions. The exact relationship of the dimensions b b and c c, etc., is a matter of empirical determination, as will be readily understood, and it should furthermore be explained that there are several standards recognized in the trade for the shapes of collar openings, whether in shirts, blouses or other garments.

ln order to assist in the sewing on of the collar or collar band, as the case may be, it is necessary to mark the center of the latter, and l accordingly provide means for thus marking the exact center point in the collar opening, in order that the two may later be assembled in correct relation by simply bringing these marks into register. These means consist of a small knife 38 carried by the head -5 of the plunger adjacent to theV right side of the curved trimming knife, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 4. This knife (see Figs. 9 and 10) is mounted on a slide 39 that is tangent with the adjacent portion of the trimmer blade 27 so that such knife can be adjusted to occupy different positions and thus correspond always with the location of the rear edge of the folded garment when supported on the shiftable table over the block. Adjustment of the knife is automatically effected incidentally to the shifting of the table by means of an arm 40 carried thereby which engages a vertical slot in a standard 41 on the table. This slot permits the free up and down movement of the knife along with the head that carries the latter, but as the table is moved in and out in adjusting the same, the knife is correspondingly shifted along the adjacent edge of the trimmer blade, to cut a V-shaped notch a-at the exact center of the collar opening.

Tnstead of the means just described for edecting adjustment of the knife 38, simultaneously with the movement of table 23, the arrangement shown in Figs. 18 and 19 may be utilized. In this, the lever 24 is not pivoted on a mere stud 48` (Fig. 2), but is attached to one end of a rock-shaft 49, the other end of which carries a lever 50. The latter is in turn connected with a` slide 51 secured to the adjacent standard 2, said slide projecting alongside the trimmer blade 27 and having a slot at its forward extremity that engages the arm 40, just as does the slot in the standard 41. Actuation of lever 24 will accordingly shift the knife 38 at the same time that it adjusts the table, while the latter is left entirely free of any connection with the other parts of the mechanism.

To assist in properly locating the garment, when folded, on the supporting table, a guide is provided consisting of a rib 42 on a plate 43, wherewith the seam c3 formed ybetween the fronts and the yoke in the case of a shirt, should be brought into alinement. This seam (see Figs. 13 and 14) will incline slightly to the median line of the table and the guide rib on plate 43 will be correspondingly inclined. Such plate, however, is removable and interchangeable with another plate 44, that carries ribs 45 which more nearly coincide with such median line, for use with blouses, in which there is no yoke, but simply a narrow tape or strip running from the shoulder to the collar opening of the garment and therefore lying, when the garment is folded, substantially on a median line. This form of guide, for use with blouses, is shown in Fig. 11. The plates 43 and 44 carrying the guides are simply pro vided with pins 46 hat fit in corresponding openings in the top of the table, whereby such guide plates may be very readily interchanged.

Tn order to insure the safe retention of the garment in place on the table, once it has been thus located, a clamping device is provided, the detailed construction of which is shown in Figs. 15 and 17, while its relation to the rest of the machine appears in Figs. 1 and 2, being omitted from Figs. 3 and 4 in order to avoid confusion. This clamping device comprises a curved springunetal member 52, that is attached to the outer end of a rocker arm 53 so as to be disposed just in front of the blade 27. The ends of this member 52 droop slightly, while its central portion is bent to it over the guide 43 or 44 when the member is depressed to clamp the garment down on the table.

To thus depress the member, a second rocker arm 54 is provided, with a rod 55 connecting the same to a pedal 56. A compression spring 5? normally urges this rod upwardly, so as to retain the member in the elevated position shown in Fig. 17, while a tension spring 58 interposed between the pedal and the rod provides for a resilient pressing action, and against injury to the lingers of the operator if inadvertently left shouldscarcely require separate description i f'Assumin'g the garment being trimmed tobe a shirt, itfis folded inthe fashion illustrated "in Fig-l3, placed on the table 23, which has been previouslyadjust'ed-by operation of --thell'ever Q4 to properly Alocate the same With Irespect to the trimmer blade '27 of the press, so""asl to allow- 4theV latter to cut an opening -oflpredeterminedff size. @The garment is i accurately located on the table by having` its ll'Ofolded edges brought against the raised #strips 28along the rearedge ofV said table andv the 'seam' as between theyolre andl the rfrontsfvalined With the guide 4t2. There- Hupon the clamp member 52 isdepressed'and thefoperator, using'both hands, depresses thef knobs 20VV and renders the clutch opera- .tive` tof rotate the crank shaft' througlrone rotation, after which it is again automati- --cally disengaged from the driving Wheel. l"'Incidenta'lly to suchv rotation the sheetl of paper 30 is advancedk to bring a fresh por- 'tion beneath the'lrnife preparatory lto the next operation, this shifting of the sheet occurring on the upward movement of the 4215 plunger.

' .Notonly does my limproved machine con- "stitute a veryisimple, safe'and rapid means for trimming the collar openings in gar- Imentsof the class in hand, but provision is chine `to cut` openings -of any desired size, and the accuracy of the trimming is at all -times assured. Suchk trimming, moreover,

is effected after the parts of the-garment vv` have beensewed together so that there can lbe no'misad'justment or variation caused through carelessness, accident, or other cause, in piecing the parts together, asis at 1 #present occurring.

' Other modes `of applying the principle of y'my 'invention may be employed instead of 'i the one explained, change being made asret gards the mechanism herein disclosed,v pro- 'vi'ded lthe'means statedj by'any of the foll'blowing claims or the equivalent of vsuch stated means be employed.

If therefore particularly pointent and "fdistinctlyclaiin as my invention :e

V 1. In Ymechanism -of the character described, thefcoinbination of ablock; aplun- 'ger,and a'tri'inmer' blade carried thereby, reciprocabletoward andfrom said block; pand atable adapted to support a garment to rbe trimmed over said block, r`said table and lblade fbeing rel'ativelyftransversely adjust- 2table.

i "f2.f'In mechanism vof *the `character de- -fscr'ibecb fthe combination of a: block; a plungen1-and la' trimmer; blade carried thereby,

Jrecip'rocablel -towa'rdf and from l said block; 'and' afft'ransver'selyk adjustable table adapted 'I "f'to''support" the garment to .be trimmedl vover said block. `3.-=-In ii'iecl'iani'sm of fthe character dee5:fseribedgf-theeonibinanonfet atleet rapina.:

rgaigezi ger; and a trimmer Vblade carried thereby, re-

lciprocable toward and from said block, said ment tov be trimmed over said block; and a raised 'flange on said table adapted to properly locate such garment with respect to said knife, when such garment is folded along its central longitudinal axis and the folded edge brought against said flange.

5. In mechanism of the character described, the combination of a block; a plunger, and a trimmer blade carried thereby,

reciprocable toward and from said block, said blade being of open curved form; a table adjustable along the transverse axis of saidy blade and adapted to support the gar- `f'in'ent to be trimmed over said block; a raised '-flange-onsaidtable adapted to properly lo- K fcate such garment transversely of said knife, 130 made'for the instant adjustment of the mawhen such garment is folded along its central longitudinal axis and the folded edge Vbrought against said `flange: and a guide substantially coinciding with the median line of said table.

` 6. In mechanism of the character described, the combination of a block; a plunger, and a trimmer blade carried thereby, reeiprocable toward and from said block; a.

n' transversely adjustable table adapted to support 4the garment to be'trimmed over said block; and means adapted to adjust said table transversely of said blade.

7. In mechanism of the character described, the combination of a block; a plunger, and a. trimmer blade carried thereby, reciprocable toward and'from said block; a

transversely adjustable table adapted to support the garment to be trimmed over said n block; and means consisting of a lever and linkv adapted Ato limit transverse movement of said table.

Sjln mechanism of the character described, the combination of a block; a plunf ger,Y and a trimmer blade carried thereby,

reeiprocable toward and from saidl block; a

i transversely adjustable table adapted to sup- `port the garment to be trimmed over said block; a slotted scale; a lever moving over and adapted to Contact with said scale; and Ia linkzeonn'ecting' said lever to said table,y

said leverland link adapted to position said table in predetermined positions.

9, kIn mechanism of the character described, lthe f combination 'of a frame; r a crank-shaft i journaled a therein 1 a block ,z a= 

